The 2006/07 PCPA state budget position is available. Members are encouraged to share this position with legislators and their staff, organization employees, boards, and other interested parties. Members should use the budget position to focus discussions enabling the provider community to speak with one voice. It is also helpful to correlate the one provider voice with individual organization concerns and issues. Talking points for such discussions were shared in January via Legislative Infos titled Legislative Analyses Foundation for Discussions, Helping Members Highlight Organization Business to Legislators, and Cultivating Established Relationships with Legislators. All can be found on the association’s web site in the public Legislative Archive section.
Highlights of the Budget Position
- The mental health/mental retardation, drug and alcohol (MH/MR/D&A) community requests a 4% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the 2006/07 state budget, bringing it in line with the allocation offered to other components of the public health system.
- Any COLA allocation language must be reflective of the need for provider flexibility in expenditures.
- Strong consideration must be given to measures such as House Bill 1813/Senate Bill 1006 (inflationary index legislation) and House Bill 1649/Senate Bill 727 (dedicated alcohol tax legislation) which would help achieve long-term funding solutions for the MH/MR/D&A system.
- Recognize that years of no or inadequate COLAs and subsequent system changes have increased financial pressures on the community system; properly fund consumers moving from institutional settings and the waiting list and be cognizant of federal budget implications.
- The loss of Intergovernmental Transfer funding must be addressed in order to provide adequate resources and continue the Community Hospital Integration Plan Project (CHIPP), a viable alternative to institutionalization, throughout Pennsylvania.
- PCPA supports reductions in waiting lists and institutional closures, but proper funding must transfer into the community system.
Harrisburg
Lobby Day Scheduled
The PCPA Harrisburg Lobby Day is June 6 at the State Capitol. The annual event
will commence with member legislative visits in the morning and culminate
with a press conference in the Capitol’s Main Rotunda at 1:00 p.m. Lobby
Day is an excellent opportunity for members to meet with legislators and staffers
in their Capitol offices. Details will follow in the coming weeks, but immediate
questions or inquiries can be directed to Melissa
DiSanto Simmons, director of legislative affairs.
